SETTING THE SCENE

The Oklahoma City Thunder welcome in Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks tonight as the Thunder push over the quarter mark of the season.

A couple of reunions will be happening this evening. Dennis Schröder will be facing his former team and Trae Young will be returning to the state that raised him. Young went to Norman North high and attended the University of Oklahoma. He was picked sixth overall in June’s NBA Draft.

The Thunder are coming off a 100-83 dominating win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Russell Westbrook looked spectacular once again as he’s now had three triple-doubles in his last four games.

Atlanta fell to the Hornets 108-94 on Wednesday night. It ended back-to-back victories for the Hawks. Before that, Atlanta had dropped 10 straight games.

Rookie of the Year Candidate Trae Young is averaging 15.9 points per game, 7.6 assists per game and is shooting 25.4 percent from three this season.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION

You can catch the radio on Oklahoma City’s WWLS, 98.1 FM. Matt Pinto will be your play-by-play voice. If you’re in Tulsa, catch it on 1450 AM.

Chris Fisher and Michael Cage call the game on the Thunder’s flagship station, Fox Sports Oklahoma. You can watch the game there, catch it on NBA League Pass, or use the Fox Sports App (If you’re in Oklahoma).

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

The Cleveland Cavaliers are 5-17 on the season, third worst record in the NBA.

Atlanta lost to the Charlotte Hornets 108-94 on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

In their last 10 games, the Hawks are 2-8.

The Hawks are 1-9 in their last 10 games (really only 2-10 overall but yeah).

In the all-time series, Oklahoma City is 66-66 vs. the Atlanta Hawks.

Since Oklahoma City moved the team from Seattle, the Thunder are 12-7 vs. Atlanta.

When they play games at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City is 6-3 all-time against the Hawks.

Three out of the last four seasons the Hawks have at least one win against the Thunder each season.

The Thunder’s largest margin of victory over Atlanta is 13 points which occurred on Dec. 10, 2015.

Meanwhile, the Thunder’s largest margin of defeat (11 points) vs. Atlanta occurred during an 88-99 loss on Dec. 23, 2008.

THUNDER INJURY REPORT

Andre Roberson (ruptured patellar tendon) is out.

Hamidou Diallo (ankle) is out.

Terrance Ferguson (ankle) is out.

NEXT UP

Oklahoma City gets three days off before hitting Detroit on Dec. 3.

Then, they will travel to Brooklyn on Dec. 5

The Thunder will round up the road trip on Dec. 7 at the Chicago Bulls.

Three Keys to the Game

Limit threes

Atlanta isn’t a particular good three-point shooting team. However, if the Thunder let the Hawks get hot from three, that could be a problem. In their five wins, the HawksIn the Thunder’s wins this season, they’re holding opponents to 30.8 percent from deep. When the Thunder lose, opponents are shooting almost 35 percent. The Thunder have to keep the Hawks from taking those deep shots. are shooting 41.7 percent from three and only 28.8 percent from three.

Free throws

Oklahoma City is slowly moving up the rankings. Oklahoma City has to make free throws if they’re going to win a game, let alone a championship. If they can get over 75 percent, this game is done for. That starts with Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, the two who’ve been struggling the most.

Block out

The Thunder are the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA. Oklahoma City has to prove and do that tonight. We saw last night where the Nuggets and Hornets were able to rebound and stay in the contest, the Cavs not so much. Oklahoma City has to find a way to rebound and put this game out of reach.